P a g e | 1

CHAPTER 1

THE PROJECT AND ITS BACKGROUND

I. Introduction

Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, activated coal, or carbo activatus, is a

form of carbon processed to be riddled with small, low-volume pores that increase the surface

area available for adsorption , purification and filtration of substances.1 It is generally used in

water filters, medicines that selectively remove toxins, and chemical purification processes as a

cleaning agent. Various manufacturers, businesses, government agencies, scientists and chemists,

and even simple people use this carbon.

Activated carbon is produced by the oxidation of charcoal made from wood, coconut

shell, sawdust, or fruit kernels. For the purpose of this study, the company will focus on

manufacturing activated carbon made from coconut shells which is seen as dominant in Quezon

Province, the company’s prospected plant site.

Coconut shell-based activated carbons are the least dusty. Predominantly microporous,

they are well-suited for organic chemical adsorption. Coconut shell-based carbon has the highest

hardness compared to other types of activated carbons, which makes it the ideal carbon for water

purification.2

In the early years, the use of Activated Carbon was already dominant. Adsorption or

filtration on porous carbons was described as early as 1550 B.C. in an ancient Egyptian papyrus

and later by Hippocrates and Pliny the Elder, mainly for medicinal purposes. In the 18 th century,

carbons made from blood, wood and animals were used for the purification of liquids but they

were only available as powders.

P a g e | 2

At the beginning of the 19th century the decolourisation power of bone char was detected

and used in the sugar industry in England which allowed the use of percolation technology,

where the liquid to be treated was continuously passed through a column. Bone char, however

was only used for sugar purification.

At the beginning of the 20th century the first processes were developed to produce

activated carbons with defined properties on an industrial scale. However, the steam activation

(V. Ostreijko, 1900 and 1901) and chemical activation (Bayer, 1915) processes could only

produce powder activated carbon. During then, powder activated carbon was only known for the

production of gas masks used in the First World War.4

Today, activated carbon is already used in various areas such as in air treatment, water

treatment, manufacture of foods and beverages, pharmaceutics, and many more. By this change

they are following the modern tendency towards recycling and waste minimisation, thereby

reducing the use of the world's resources.

The demand in activated carbon is

increasing through time as to more and more

sectors discover the wonders and benefits of

active carbon. Recently, cosmetic companies

ventured to it. As water becomes increasingly

needed to satisfy life, the purification of water rapidly grows as well as the purification of foods.

Apparently, the supplies do not match the demand. More and more businesses be it large or not

use it but there are only few manufacturers of activated carbon.

In Quezon province where there are large number of coconut shells and woods, no one

manufactures activated carbon. As a result, small businesses pay more cost on shipping and

Table 1.1 Demand of Activated Carbon Source: www.researchinchina.com

P a g e | 3

handling for they still have to order in Manila, Cebu, Central Luzon and even abroad just to have

a supply which is a real burden. But still, the supply is not enough to cater all and it leads to

circumstances such that end user industries have to depend partially on imports and partially on

lowering their consumption.

II. Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to know the feasibility of manufacturing Activated

Carbon in Quezon Province. In line with this, this study aims to:

a. know the profitability and marketability of manufacturing Activated Carbon in Quezon

Province;

b. identify the possible problems and opportunities in venturing in this kind of industry;

c. determine the competitiveness of the company from its competitors, whether direct or

indirect competitors and;

d. find out the economic practicability of operating this business in Quezon Province.

III. The Company

A. Company Profile

The company is directed to be established as one of the top activated carbon

manufacturers in the country. The company shall be called “Carbon Plus Corporation”

for practical reasons such that, this corporation is all about carbon and adding chemicals

to it to level up the value of the simple carbon. When carbon is mixed with chemicals to

make it active, it will not be another element thus, it will always, and still be a carbon, the

only difference is that, other chemicals were added to it.

P a g e | 4

Carbon Plus Corporation is a stock corporation and will have its own plant and

main office at Brgy. Bocohan, Domoit, Lucena City, Quezon. The location will perfectly

suit the nature of the corporation, which is to make coconut shell-based carbons and since

Quezon is one of the top coconut producing region, raw materials are readily available

and accessible at the same time.

Carbon Plus Corporation saw the felt need on purification these days as our world

becomes more polluted. Everything must be sanitized first before it gets to the final users

of the product. Before coming up with the final good, other manufacturers and producers

sanitize first their product offerings making sanitation processes in demand. And Carbon

Plus Corporation aims to help these manufacturers, small or big, meet their product

standards at the same time lower their production cost.

Carbon Plus Corporation also saw the great difference in demand and supply.

There is a very great demand on activated carbon as it caters to almost all industries, but

such low and lacking supply. There are only a number of manufacturers of activated

carbon in the Philippines and they offer in great bulks. Some others are just distributors.

Businesses and other industries who needs activated carbon in their operation generally,

commit a large transportation cost for they have to order in far places. The Carbon Plus

Corporation found it odd especially for those within and near Quezon, where there is an

abundant amount of charcoal. In making a plant in Quezon, there is a certainty that we

can offer the product in a much lower price.

Other businesses on the other hand, having no choice as to buying big bulks of

activated carbon, suffer great cost discharges such as maintenance cost which is a real

burden. If we manage to offer them products in small quantities, they can effectively

control their order cost and can efficiently manage their production processes.

P a g e | 5

Carbon Plus Corporation aims to help not only big corporations but also those

little entrepreneurs who can only afford to buy in small quantity. The company aims to

grant businesses with much effective and efficient production generating customer

satisfaction.

B. Logo of the company

Fig. 1.1 Company Logo

The color of the words “CARBON PLUS CORPORATION” is inspired by the

color of activated carbon itself, which varies within the shades of black and gray, while

the six circles at the side represent the atomic number of the element carbon, six.

Activated carbon works with the idea “black attracts black”, the circles started

from a dark toned one, which represents a substance with impurities. With the aid of the

insertion of Carbon Plus product, the shade of each circle lightens, until it reached a clear

one, representing the process of adsorption of the residues, dirt and other impurities of the

substance, which specifically, is the main function of activated carbon.

C. Vision

Carbon Plus Corporation is an integrated manufacturing entity providing

sufficient supply of high quality activated carbon and relevant services to respond to the

growing demands of the public while minimizing the cost of the product to make it more

affordable to the users. Equipped with dedication to be on the top of the industry to

further enhance the quality of purifications of our generation and generations to come,

P a g e | 6

providing more job opportunities, a better industry and for the satisfaction of the

customers.

D. Mission Statement

a. Enthusiastically ensure the success of our company by effectively

satisfying the needs of our customer, shareholders and employees.

b. Consistently manufacture reliable and high- quality products and related

services.

c. Interdependently accelerate competence of our company through intensive

development, quick response to modernization and cooperation with the

society.

d. Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and

support sustainable communities.

e. Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being aware of our

overall responsibilities; environmental, governmental and overall welfare.

f. Minimizing costs and offering variety of products.

E. Opportunities and Advantages

Being the first manufacturer of Activated carbon here in Quezon, provides the

company the assurance of no direct competition as the users would prefer availing

products minimizing the cost of transportation and handling. In addition, Quezon is

known for abundance in coconut supply which gives the company a great advantage in

supply, as it is sufficient and readily available in the region. Compared to other raw

materials used, Coconut is the most renewable at the quickest time possible, making it

P a g e | 7

possible to have enough supply to ensure continuous production. Furthermore, activated

carbon from coconut shells is more reliable compared to other sources. According to

Grimwood,”Shell carbons are generally dense, very hard and highly retentive. They have

a very fine pore structure and their rate of adsorption is generally faster than that of coal

carbons.”5

IV. The Product

Carbon is one of the most abundant elements

in the world. With this, Carbon Plus Corporation

maximized the potentials of this element by turning it

into something very useful.

Activated Carbon (AC) is a crystalline

substance which has the ability to adsorb or purify

substances. It undergo through the activation process

whether thermal or chemical. Hydrocarbons are

removed from the carbon material thus producing

network of tunnels and pores which gives the ability of adsorption.

The adsorption process of Activated Carbon goes through three basic steps. First, the

substance is adsorb on the outside surface of the carbon. Then it goes into the carbon adsorption

pore with the highest adsorption energy. Lastly, the substance is then adsorb into the inner

platelets of the carbon. The two mechanisms wherein the chemicals are adsorbed onto the

activated carbon are either it hates the water or it attracts into the activated carbon.

Fig 1.2 Activated carbon in water filtration

P a g e | 8

Activated Carbon is produced from a wide variety of carbon-rich materials like coconut

shell, peat, wood, fruit kernels, or sawdust. The best material to be used is the coconut shell for

it has the following inherent qualities which give them the edge among other sources:

a. High hardness levels (> 97%):

Ensures superior material handling and minimizes dust generation.

b. High surface area (up to 1500 m2/g):

Gives high adsorption efficiency

c. High microporosity (< 20 Angstroms):

Gives high adsorption and retention capacity. This is important for the

removal of low-molecular weight organics and trace levels of

contaminants.

d. Low ash content:

Gives high purity preventing contamination of adsorbates.

e. High density

Provides for economical containment for the same level of filtration.

Source: Green Carbon Inc.

Common Uses of Activated Carbon

Table 1.2 Common Uses of Activated CarbonSource: www.kuraraychemical.com

Air Treatment Water treatment Food and Beverage  Odor Control  Drinking Water  Sugar Decolour  VOC Adsorption  waste water  Fruit Juice  Solvent Recovery  Process Water  Bottled Water   Flue Gas  Remediation  MSG  Air Condition  Swimming Pool  Edible Oil Inorganic Abate Aquariums  PSA      Auto Emission      Cigarette Filter    

P a g e | 9

Summarized Uses of Activated Carbon

States Purpose Applications Examples

Gas Phase Recovery Gasoline Vapor

Recovery

Gasoline Fuel recovery,ELCD

    Solvent Recovery MEK, Cyclohexanone, CS2, Furon,

Trichloroethane

  Odor Removal Room Order Removal Tobacco, CO, Room filters, Toilet

Odor, Pet Odor

    Refrigerator Deodorizer

    Automobile Cabin air filters

    Tobacco Cigarette Filter

    Hospital Anesthetic gas removal

    Ozone Removal Copiers, Laser Printers

  Harmful Gas Closed Environment Dioxin removal,Space Ships,

Underground CO2

  Gas Separation Nitrogen PSA Nitrogen Gas Separation

    Other PSA Radio Active Gas

Liquid

Phase

Water Treatment Factory Waste Water Cleaning Waste Water

    Drinking Water

Treatment

Trihalomethane, Chlorine,

VOCs, Lead, Arsenate removal

  Decolorization of

Indusrial

Chemicals

Industrial Use Sugar refinement, Pharmaceutical

use, Whisky distilment

  Medical

Applications

Medical and Nursing Kidney machine, Nursing supplies,

Respirators

  Electronics Eletrorodes Double Layer Capacitors, Hardisks

  Mineral Recovery Gold Recovery Gold Recovery

Table 1.3 Summarized Uses of Activated CarbonSource: www.kuraraychemical.com

P a g e | 10

P a g e | 11

V. Business Offerings

Carbon Plus Corp. offers the market with Activated Carbon made from coconut shells. It

provides consumers different types of Activated Carbon. Below is the list of activated carbons

offered by the company and its corresponding description and uses.

Type Description Uses

Powdered

This type of activated carbon is usually used for liquid phase adsorption. They are put into liquids to be purified and then removed in the process of sedimentation and filtration.

These are used as water treatment, decolorization of industrial chemicals, medicinal applications, electronics and mineral recovery.

Granular These are irregularly shaped Activated Carbons. These are preferably used for absorption of gases and vapors because their rate of diffusion is faster.

These are used for deodorization, air purification, water treatment and separation of components of flow system.

Pelletized These are cylindrical shaped Activated Carbons. They have low pressure drop, high mechanical strength and low dust content.

These are mainly used for gas phase applications such as air purifications, solvent vapour recovery, clarification of industrial gas, gas masks and cigarette filters.

Table 1.4 Business Offeings

References:1 http://www.wikipedia.com2 http://www.watertechonline.com3 http://www.bambootech.org4 http://www.chemvironcarbon.com5 Coconut Palm Products: Their Processing in Developing Countries by Brian E. Grimwood, Ashman, F., Jarman, C.G., Dendy, D.A.V